


The Sacrificial Chamber

by JayDee292



Series: Sacrifice [1]
Category: Alien Series, Alien vs Predator (2004), Aliens vs Predators Series - Various Authors
Genre: Alien Series - Freeform, Alien vs. Predator, Canon Compliant, Character Death, Implied Relationships, Infected Characters, Xenomorphs (Alien)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-26
Updated: 2020-11-15
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:40:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,786
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26662327
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JayDee292/pseuds/JayDee292
Summary: A centuries worth of bloodshed from the sacrifices of both the willing and unwilling in the pyramid. For thousands of years the hunters have come to earth and for thousands of years, humans have been sacrificed to birth the deadliest organism known to man.
Series: Sacrifice [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1939957
Comments: 8
Kudos: 6





	1. The Pyramid

**Author's Note:**

> This is basically an update to an old small fic I wrote and posted on DA. I am not an experienced writer and my grammer is not the best so please forgive any mistakes. Should I get a beta writer then I shall update the story.

The Pyramid.  
The Hunting ground.  
The Maze.  
The Holy Temple.

The name of one of the earliest wonders was irrelevent as its massive stone structure and exterior belied the advanced mechanical functions within, designed to be the ultimate hunting ground and give no advantage to the hunters. 

The walls, ceilings and floors were constructed to shift often, usually in a repetitive cycle. The process increased the challenge for the hunters, adding and removing entrances and exits. No familiar ground or directions for the participants to fall back on. The design also ensured there was little way of escape for those chosen to be sacrificed and more importantly, to prevent the black serpents from escaping their prison. 

The structure itself was decorated with hieroglyphs and mosiacs, all telling the story of how it came to be, what is and what will be. The boon given by the gods did come freely, in exchange for teaching the primitive humans to build more advance structures, they required at least seven sacrifices every hundred years. The gods as they are believed to be were hunters and their chosen prey could only be born through the body of another species, they required hosts.

Hosts could be of any species compatible to the serpents, even the hunters themselves could fall prey to the parasites. Humans were the preferred cattle of the hunters and the worship from them was a convenient tool to use them for their purposes.  
Once the chosen sacrifices were implanted with the deadly seed, they would be guarded by high priests to make sure they didn't leave the sacrificial chamber as the pyramid shifted faster than the incubation period. It was only once the hosts started going through the birthing pains that the priests would leave, a temporary stop to the pyramid's shifts would be triggered to make sure they were able to leave safely. The chosen rarely ever tried to escape as the indoctrination of their religion ensured that they were willing to die for their gods and they considered it an honor.

Three of the hunters would go in and test themselves against the most dangerous prey. More often than not, only one would come out, and sometimes none at all. Such was the threat that the obsidian serpents posed and why they must never escape from the shifting halls of their prison.  
The most fatal and devastating lesson of this was when three hunters managed to emerge victorious from their hunt, revelling in their victory and own ego, they decided to start another hunt immediately, due to a lack of precedence for this, the high priests were not prepared to manage the hastly chosen sacrifices who were less than willing to die nor was the pyramid ready to be used again.

Some of the hosts refused to wait in the sacrificial chamber until they bore the serpent, with no priests present to stop them, they escaped from the pyramid and carried their infection to the city that had surrounded the great pyramid. Within a day, nearly a dozens of humans went missing, and the next day the entire city became infested with a swarm of ebony monsters.  
To the credit of the three hunters who unwittingly caused the infestation with their pride, they alone remained as the only survivors left and they made their last stand at the top of the pyramid. Thousands of serpents were climbed the pyramid as well as eachother, each one eagerly trying to kill the last three threats to their existence.  
Facing an unwinnable battle, the last hunter standing managed to arm his weapon before succumbing to his wounds. The device went off and completely erased the city and the pyramid. 

Nothing was left alive.

Not willing to give up their sacred traditions, the hunters continued to breed the serpents only this time they made sure to learn from their previous follies, first the new pyramid was constructed in an isolated environment, deep underground. Secondly the life-cycle of the serpents was greatly accelerated to make sure no host would ever have the time to carry their deadly cargo into the outside world. Incubation of the beasts would be in minutes instead of hours, a host would be dead before they could even take a few steps towards the chamber's exit.

Over the time the hunters used new methods to gain the sacrifices they needed for the centennial hunt, no longer being worshipped by humans, they now needed to lure the humans to their doom.


	2. Sacrificial Maiden

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First sacrificed chronologically.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies in advance for the mistakes in this, again not an experienced writer and got no beta.

Sacrificial Chamber. B.C

Alara was a beautiful young woman with raven black hair, she was in the prime of her life and could have had any suitor she desired, but that was not what destiny had in store for her. Instead fate made it so that she was chosen for a higher purpose and while she was honored by it, she was also scared.

Pacing back and forth whilst breathing heavily, Alara felt on the verge of panic but she didn't know why though because what she was going to do was supposed to be a great honor and it will fulfill the pact made by her people's ancestor and the giant reptilian gods that had recently visited them.

Every hundred years, their gods would return on their flying ships. The process to be chosen was not instant and the visitation of their gods would last days, the last being when their hunt has been completed. 

Alara thought back to the ceremony where they were chosen by the chance stones.

Unlike last time, the chosen one here were all female, every one of them were dressed in white robes and were all gathered around a platform that had the high priests on it. All in all, there was about 30 women chosen, all adults and without husband or children. Technically despite what they were called during this process, only seven of them would be chosen to be sacrificed, the priests used stones to determine who would be honoring the deities for upcoming hunt. All of the women were blindfolded and told to put their hand in a bag and pull out a stone.

There were seven white stones and the rest were black.

Alara was one of the seven that had gotten a white stone and upon been told to take of her blindfold and open her hand that contained the white stone, she had felt immense joy but also quickly followed by fear, the look in her family's eyes was nearly identical to her own, they were both proud of their daughter and also grieving for her.

Alara was escorted by the priests along with the six other women and taken to the chosen one's temple near the great pyramid.

The interior almost looked like a palace, as the she was currently pacing in was filled with exotic fruits, regal furniture, baths and all sorts of royal comforts

There was three days of preperation for the upcoming ritual. Alara and the others were now known as the sacrificial maidens.

Over the course of three days, the priests had informed the maidens on what to expect and how they will be sacrificed. They already knew some aspects of course, such as that their gods hunts the serpents and that the serpents are bred through sacrifices but they didn't how the deadly seed would incubate within them or how it would happen, until now.

Alara as well as some of the other maidens were taken back by the details, it sounded horrifying. They were told that a spider like creature, just like the one on the hieroglyphs, would embrace their face and force the serpent into their body. They were not yet told about how the serpents would emerge from their bodies nor how painful it would, likely to prevent them from having second thoughts and fleeing. The maidens did at least know that they would not survive the process.

On the third day, the maidens were bathed and all dressed in identical garbs, as well wearing a gold and feathered headcrest that depicted the spider of serpants. The same beast that they were soon to be sacrificed to. Because of the high price that is paid, the chosen are normally allowed to live like royalty for the three days of preparation. The most kindness that can be received given the cirumstances.

Alara and the rest of chosen had spent their last night feasting, their final meal. Some of the maidens were conversing as if they weren't about to die, Alara envied that their devotion to the gods was greater than hers but at least there was some amount comfort in the knowledge that she would not be alone. Alara concluded that the reason for her increased anxiety was not merely death, that is something she was more than prepared for, but she feared the manner in which it would happen. The chosen were now aware of what was to happen, the priest showed them hieroglyphs of the serpents life-cycle. 

  
The sound of the large temple doors opening awoke the maidens, it was morning. Which meant it was time, the priests have come to take them to the pyramid.

The walk to the pyramid was both exciting and terrifying, they were being escorted by the priests and some soldiers, ironically the soldiers are there to protect them, not guard them. As when the chosen ones are making the walk to the pyramid, the streets are filled with citizen wanting to watch the parade. The crowd cheers and throws flowers to the maidens. In many ways the parade was similar to a coronation of a king only this one ends not with ruling but a journey into the afterlife.

Climbing the huge steps towards the massive structure almost cleared any doubts and fears in Alara's mind, she was in awe of what was in front of here. The gods themselves was also present, standing with spears in hand.

The maidens had entered the huge pyramid and could stop looking at the wall, the floors and what they could see of the ceiling. The hieroglyphs of their history and culture were everywhere, immortalized and there for future sacrifices to see. After a few minutes of traversing winding hallways, they were finally led to the sacred sacrificial chamber where they would give their lives for the please of their gods. While the priests were talking, Alara looked around the rom intently.

The chamber was circular with seven slabs all in a circle, in the centre of the room was a grate of some kind that led to the chamber below, the hunter's armory. One of the walls of the room opened in a small chamber in which the walls were decorated with skulls of the previously sacrificed humans.

Alara snapped to attention when the priests instructed them to lay down on the large stone slabs, Alara and the others did as instructed and waited to meet their fate. Despite being monitored by the priests, no one has actually witnessed the process before as the sacrificial chamber is sealed tight once the gods activated the temple. It is done out of containment rather than out sacredness or privacy. 

The priests were given the signal and left the room, almost immedietly the large doors slam shut.

Silence fills the room.

Alara could feel her heart pounding now that sound of the pyramid shifting has stopped, her thoughts racing and wondering when the spiders of the serpants would come, suddenly she hears the sound of something moving, she casts her eyes down toward's her feet and widens her eyes when sees an ovoid object rise through some orifice in the slab.

it was an egg, this is where those spider things came from. the mosiacs showed to them revealed this. All slabs now had the fleshy eggs raised. Alara swallowed and closed her eyes, she tried to meditate to calm herself as well recited a mantra in head, that this was a honor to their gods.

Having slowed her breathing, Alara once again could hear not a single sound as there was now complete silence. The stone slab she lay on wasn't exactly built for comfort, so she shifted a bit which seemed to have caused her egg to gain some activity, a sloshing sound came from it and she again looked down and saw the egg began pulsing and then rippling.

Suddenly a wet, squelching noise reverberated around the room, Alara could not avert her eyes, the egg "petals" slowly peeled open, trailing glistening slime between. Despite herself, Alara's breath hitched and she felt her heartbeat hasten.

Long slender fingers made their way out of the egg, spreading out and trailing slime everywhere. The spider-thing then pulled itself out from the egg.  
Alara crinkled her nose in disgust, it was not a welcome sight, the thing was almost the color of human skin, it had eight legs with claws on them, behind the legs were large sacs of some kind that were quivering. What seperated it from a true spider was its long segmented tail. There was no eyes and Alara thought that made it even more frightening. The creature dropped onto to her feet and began to slowly make its way to her face. Alare squeezed her eyes shut and prayed in her head to whomever would listen.

  
The facehugging parasite made its way to her chest and then near her neck, Alara opened to see that the spider was inches from her face, the parasite reared back so that it's moist underside was directly opposite her face.   
The Maiden could see in detail the creature's underside, it was a red-dark pink, with a orifice in the middle, the whole underside was dripping with slime, a long, thick tube started coming through the orifice and was stretching towards the her. 

Alara opened her mouth and the parasite's response was immediate, She squeezed her eyes shut as her invitation was accepted and the long shaft pushed past her lips as it journeyed further into her mouth, sliding across her tongue and down her throat. Alara let out a muffled moan before her face was completely smothered by the parasite. She could feel it wrapping its skeletal fingers around her head, the tail had not yet coiled around her neck and didn't seem to be in a rush to do so.

With silence falling again she could now hear the other women letting out muffled moans and gagging sounds, indicating they were now experiencing the same process as her. Alara thought it would hurt, it wasn't as painful as she thought, but the creature's seed-deposting tube going down her throat was uncomfortable as it triggered her gag reflex but now it was just resting in her throat and throbbing, no pain .

Darkness was all she knew and experienced now.

  
Alara slowly regained consciousness, she immediately became aware of the smothering sensation of the thing still wrapped around her face as well as throbbing shaft that was shoved down her thoat, as her thought started to become more coherent, she felt the thing on face shifting, whatever was in her throat was retracting and creature itself was now pushing itself off of her. Alara's eyes widened and then it limply fell to the side of her head and stopped moving, she looked back at the ceiling, everything seemed like it was spinning, her mouth was dry and had a strange taste in it. It reminded her of the times she dried the bitter drinks that made people act strange.

Alara turned her head and gasped, beyond the dead spider by head and on the next slab, she saw the other maiden, her parasite was still attached to her face and the sacs was pulsing, she blinked a few times and looked closely and could swear she saw a bulge pass down the maiden's throat. 

Memories were coming back to her now, she a sacrificial maidena and this was sacrifice.  
Alara barely remembered feeling something being deposited into her, the bulge in the tube was large enough to be felt as it slid past her lips and down her throat, Alara heard the audible gulps of others as they recieved the seed. Alara got up slightly and noticed that all of her fellow chosen still had the creatures clamped to their faces, she was the only one without it, which mean she was going to die first.

Alara leaned back down and drifted off into a deep sleep for awhile. Dreams of another life, another fate haunted her, Alara dreamed of regret only to be suddenly awoken by the pain of her chest being pounded, she looked around as she gently rubbed her chest and noticed the other maidens no longer had the parasites on their faces. They all seemed to be in a deep sleep. The pain came again, the pounding was coming from within and it was happening in frequent intervals, the next pounding cause her chest to thrust out and arch her back, then her ribs started cracking open, Alara's chest became red with blood as the serpent pushed further, her screams echoing the chamber along with screach of the parasite as it finally emerged.

Only a short time later, the screams of several women followed.

The hunt could now begin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This little chapter was based on Alien vs. predator movie, specifically the flashback scene where those poor maidens got facehugged.


	3. The Primal Hunt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One of the earliest Xenomorp hunts of planet earth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay in getting a chapter out but I decided to alter my original plans in favor of some extensions about the hunts after each sacrifice. I once again apologize for any mistakes, writing isn't my strongest point and I don't have a beta yet.

The multitude of screams echoed within the sacrificial chamber, along with the inhuman screeches of the freshly born serpents. While free of their hosts, the worm-like stage of the serpents were still contained in the now silent chamber.

Soon however, they would be set loose in the dark corridors of the pyramid.

The high pitched sounds of the host' death and the beast's birth had been heard by the eager hunters in the chamber below. 

Seven sacrifices.

Seven Serpents.

The ultimate test of worth and skill had now begun.

The hunters had not long armed themselves with their shoulder mounted weapons, a considerable advantage that they relied on as few of their kind had the strength, skill and courage to slay a serpent in melee combat. Despite the advantage it gave them, they were still expected to combat the beasts in close quarters.Their energy weapons were meant to be as a last ditch weapon or to cull numbers if the hunter was outnumbered greatly.

The Pyramid rumbled and shook as it shifted its dark walls, closing hallways while also creating new ones. The entrance in and out of the pyramid was sealed, this would not change with any other shift until the hunt was over. The doors were controlled externally by the overseer who observed the hunt. this was to stop any of the obsidian horrors from escaping if the hunt failed. 

The recently born serpents above would now be able to leave the sacrificial chamber and were free to roam to any location within the pyramid so long as it was accessible. And there were plenty of small hallways and crawlspaces throughout the massive structure. The serpents always seemed to have an instinct for finding the most hidden areas of any environment that they find themselves in. While physically formidable, the Serpents preferred ambush tactics to openly confronting potential prey, It almost seemed that like the hunters, they too enjoyed the stalking and observation of the prey before making their move. 

The hunters would have to watch for ever gap and every corner, fortunately for them, their helmet's allowed them to see the serpents easily, the creature's shape would glow bright green in contrast to their background. While it took away some advantage for the serpents, it wouldn't stop them from sneaking behind a hunter or staying out of their eyeline.

The hunters themselves decided to split up and each were going to leave the chamber through the three different hallways out of the sarcophagus chamber, in normal circumstances such a decision would be considered unwise and would certainly be the doom of most who chose to do so. However, as the trial is meant to test them on their skills and worthiness, they each had to face the threats alone.

The energy weapons they retrieved were more than powerful enough to deal with a single serpent. Part of the challenge was also due to the uncertainty of what kind of encounter the hunters would have, they knew what they were up against of course but not where the beasts exact locations were or their proximity to each other.

Seven serpents against three hunters, Ideally each hunter could face one, maybe two at a time but there was also a chance that one of the hunters could end up having to deal with three at a time, or possibly all seven.

Such risk was part of the thrill and it would keep a wise hunter on their toes.

Three youngbloods were now ready to earn their blooded status....or die tryng.

Blue eyes as he was known, was the slimmest of the three hunters, being more athletic and agile than the juggernauts that was his fellow hunters. He lacked the distinct yellow eyes of his kind, instead he had a piercing light blue. In addition to his features, his armor possesssed tribal paint on it that shared his eye color, taking pride in his unique features. Blue was a hunter that preferred urban areas to jungles or deserts, he found that the constant presence of sentient beings would keep him sharp. A mistake in a jungle could be minor, but in an urban area filled with cameras, noise and high population, detection could be the difference between life and death. Unfortunately for Blue, stealth would be useless against the beasts, their eyeless carapaces could see in ways other prey could not. It was one of the more unnerving aspects of them. Still, this was a challenge he had to take.

Blue Eyes took the hallways to the left of the weapon sarcophagus

The tallest Hunter made for the centre hallway, Bones he was called as he would cover his armor completely in the bones of those he had successfully hunted, not a trace of the metallic shine could be seen on his body, only the eye lenses remained unobstructed. His helmet had antlers on it, from what species is unknown but they were far more alien looking than any deer. Bones relished the opportunity to adorn his armor with the carapaces of the serpents, not only woud he be a walking reminder of his accomplishments but he would actually have practical use for it. The serpent's body is immune to their own corrosive blood and would make ideal armor for any who planned to hunt more of the parasitic beasts.

Banshee was large, even by his kind's standards, his physical strength was such that he participated in his earlier hunts with the most bare minimum of equipment, prefering instead to dominate his prey with his own natural talents. His namesake was such as he would intimidate his prey with a high pitched roar that would make any nearby animal flee the area, that is they didn't end up frozen on the spot cowering.. Banshee was more equipped for this hunt compared to his previous conquests, as confident in his martial prowess as Banshee was, he was wise enough not to take risks simply for ego and pride. Banshee made his way to the remaining hallway.

The empty looking hall of the structure howled with distant shrieks, the serpents have grown enough to be able to vocalize loud enough to be heard by anyone unfortunate enough to still be anywhere in the pyramid.

Blue progressed cautiously through the halls, listening for any sound that he could hear, anything that would indicate that he was not alone. While the pyramid was part of an urban area, Blue's preferred type of hunting ground, He was at a disadvantage. Agile and stealthy as he was, he would not be able to hide from the beasts. Agilty would therefor be his only friend for close quarter's combat, his weapon of choice for melee was extended dual single-bladed wristblades and a curved short sword as a backup. Blue utilized these in his normal hunts as he mostly preferred close quarters engagements, as such he very rarely used his energy weapons during his hunts. however, this hunt was going to be far more dangerous than his previous hunts and he felt that he would end up being forced to use it more than he would want to.

The pyramid rumbled again and it started another shift, the door behind Blue slammed shut, while stairs leading down appeared before him. This would take him to the lowest levels of the structure. Looking around for any other hallways but finding none, Blue decended down the stairs and into the blackness, his vision picking up nothing but the sudden cold feeling in his spine told him that he was not alone.

The high pitched hissing coming from somewhere in the area confirmed it.

The next hiss was far closer.

Blue extended his wristblades

Bones had ascended a level and eventually found himself in familar ground, the three had passed this way on their way down to the sarcaphagus chamber, the shifting hallways had taken him backwards and near the sacrificial chamber, Bones switched his vision spectrum and noticed dried bloodtrails up ahead. Bones approached where it was and crouched to the ground to investigate.

The worm-like stage of the serpents had come through this area once the pyramid had shifted, they were still soaked in the blood of their hosts. Further examination of the blood stains indicated only six of the beasts had come this way, meaning the seventh was still close to the sacrificial chamber. Seeing these signs as the closest he would get to know where there was a single serpent, Bones decided to trace the bloodtrail back to its origin.

A single serpent was extraordinarly dangerous but it was preferrable to bumping into a group of them. If he was successful in eliminating it then there would be only six left, still dangerous numbers but one less would still be a markedly improved odds for his fellow hunters.

Following the trail back to its source, Bones was certain that at least one serpent stayed behind and he could guess why. Seeing the organic resin coating the walls confirmed his thoughts. One had stayed behind to start a hive. This hasn't been the first time a serpent has tried to create a hive in the pyramid, though according to the last surviving hunter, it wasn't in the sacrificial chamber last time.

Bones cautiously entered and unsheathed his telescopic spear. Still in his thermal vision, Bones could see the cold bodies of the sacrifical maidens, their chest's blown wide open with bones sticking out. While he didn't sympathize with prey, he still nonetheless considered such a death to be a suffering that no creature should endure. Bones switched to the vision that detected the serpents.

A hiss behind him alerted him to 9ft tall horror standing in front of him, its teeth baring and its tail positioned over its shoulder like a scorpion ready to sting.

Bones roared and charged.

Banshee stood triumphantly, his foot standing on the neck of the serpent he had just broken. It was not an easy victory, the numerous deep scratches all over his body as well multiple stab wounds said as much. Banshee's strength had barely saved his life as the serpent's own power could easily rival his kind's strength, sometimes even outmatch them if they have had the time to mature more. At it is, he was lucky he was dealing with a young specimen.

Banshee's plasmacaster had been destroyed during the initial ambush, meaning he now had no back up to fall on if he encountered larger numbers, he had also lost his wrist blades to the beast's acid when he landed a few stikes himself. Banshee's acid proof dagger had been the only weapon left and it had been knocked from his hand when he attempted to use it. The serpent had pinned him against the wall and had been about to use its deadly inner jaw to paint the walls with his luminous blood. Thinking quickly, he grabbed the head of the serpent, forced its mighty jaw's shut and then broke its neck in one quick movement.

Victory hard earned was a sweeter victory, he now had to mark himself to annoint himself as a blooded warrior.

Banshee retrieved his dagger and removed a digit from the body of the serpent. He will mark himself once he finds a safer location, being caught unawares now would be embrassing after such a hard fought victory.

The pyramid shifted again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As per a commentor's suggestion, I decided to write up a new chapter about the hunt. Originally the next timeline sacrifice was going to be posted as that is what I had already drafted, so this extended the time between chapters.   
> Hope you enjoyed and I appreciete feedback.

**Author's Note:**

> First chapter, basically a prologue. Apologies for any mistakes in this.


End file.
